


The K-Files

by ApomaroMellow



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, First Dates, Fluff, Imprisonment, Kidnapping, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Stalking, Witch Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:21:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24317230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApomaroMellow/pseuds/ApomaroMellow
Summary: Keith actually breaks into Area 51 but instead of finding aliens and spaceships he finds a teleporting wolf who takes him right to his master - some guy who claims to be a witch.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), past lance/lotor - Relationship
Comments: 40
Kudos: 186





	1. Chapter 1

Everyone had laughed at him. Had said he was foolish. Had said he was crazy. Some thought he was just joking. But Keith took it all and used it as fuel to accomplish his endeavor. While everyone else was here for fun. Keith was here to win. But what else was new?

Bandana around his mouth and hood over his head to hide his identity, he was the only one to actually break into the mysterious Area 51. The first level was much like a normal military base. Keith had been around them often, his older brother being a military man himself. And Keith was no idiot. They wouldn't have any of the interesting stuff where just anyone could see it.

He kept to corners, mindful of the security cameras and made it to the basement level. From there, he pried open a vent on the floor and made his way through the maze of ventilation tunnels, going deeper and deeper underground until he began to hear voices. He kept his eyes and ears peeled for something he could take as definitive proof of alien life.

A ray gun would be nice, but anyone these days could make a fancy looking gun with enough determination.

An autopsied alien corpse would be great, but hard to carry out unless it really was a little green man. And there'd be someone who thought he had fashioned it himself.

Maybe if he could fly out of here with a crashed ship the scientists had repaired? Most of the places where the vents opened up were just empty rooms. Some dark, so he had put on his night vision goggles, but none of them held anything interesting. It was only when he came to a brightly lit room where several scientists were bustling about that his interest was piqued.

Through the slits of the vent, he could make out what appeared to be an alien wolf. He whimpered as someone took some blood from him. Each paw was held down by a cuff that glowed with what appeared to be LED lights. It must be using advanced technology to cancel out the alien's strength. Or maybe it was like Superman's kryptonite, Keith mused. A similar device that worked as a collar was locked around the creature's neck.

They were perfect. They didn't appear injured. And they were huge. Keith could ride it out of here and into the night. He waited, biding his time as the doctors finished up for the night. Even top secret labs had closing times. When they finished up with the alien, they wheeled the observation table behind a glass wall, presumably a containment chamber.

The scientists cleaned up and left. Keith heard the door close and lock behind them. He gave it another moment before unscrewing the vent and entering the room. He input the code to open the containment part of the room, having seen one of them do it earlier. The alien slightly lifted their head the best they could with the collar and a low growl rumbled through them.

Keith knelt down and took his backpack off, rifling through it until he found his bolt cutters. He cut the chain around one paw first and the entire shackle disintegrated. Keith's eyes widened in awe, thinking it must be some sort of nanotechnology that ran on a kind of circuit that kept the chains binding. Break one link and the whole thing falls apart.

He went around the alien, doing this until the cuffs and collar completely disappeared and they were free. The wolf alien released a howl of joy and that immediately set off the alarms. Keith put the cutter away and threw his bag over his shoulder.

"We gotta get out of here!"

The alien jumped off the table and only then was Keith able to take in their full size. It was large enough to grab Keith by the scruff of his jacket. Before he could object to the indignation, he saw armed men burst into the lab beyond the glass and suddenly they were gone.

* * *

_"Hey! Yo! Dude are you good?"_

"Mmnnfrmfn."

Keith answered as eloquently as he could to the muffled voice. It felt like his ears were underwater. Meanwhile, his chest was experiencing sleep paralysis. Keith opened his eyes and he was greeted with blue eyes the sparkled like the night sky. Although he was sure that it was the sun shining behind the person's head, giving them a halo.

So that's what happened. He got trapped under Area 51 and was killed on sight. Keith supposed that wasn't so bad if this was the kind of reception the afterlife gave. Except...perhaps...he could do without the weight on his chest.

"Can't...breathe..." How could he die from suffocation if he was already dead?

"Kosmo boy, get off of him."

Keith heard an doggish huff before the pressure was gone and instead of the eyes of his angel was looking into the eyes of the alien now. Keith reached up and scratched the alien's head as the rest of his senses returned and everything else came back into focus. Enjoying the scratches, Kosmo laid his head back onto Keith's chest, returning him to his previous problem.

"Kosmo, we can't thank him if you kill him. Shoo you."

Kosmo gave another huff before moving back away from Keith and settling himself on the floor. Keith slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. He was in someone's bedroom. That much he understood. How he got here was another story entirely.

"Where am I? Who are you?"

"I'm Lance and this is Kosmo. He's my uh...he's my wolf."

"Your alien wolf", Keith accused. "Which means you're an alien too."

"Alien?", Lance repeated. "Where exactly did you find him?", he pointed the question to Kosmo, as if the animal could answer. Maybe they could in a secret alien language.

" _I_ found _him_ in Area 51", Keith answered.

"Ah", Lance said, understanding. "I see how you got confused. I don't know what he was doing there, but neither of us is aliens. I'm a witch and Kosmo here is my familiar."

Keith had been wrong. This guy wasn't an angel. He probably wasn't even an actual alien. He was worse than all the naysayers who had derided him for his beliefs in life outside their planet.

He was someone who believed in magic.


	2. Chapter 2

Lance had been in the middle of a binge, trying to keep his mind off of Kosmo by focusing on a bad tv show with inconsistencies. Kosmo had been missing for weeks and no matter the summons of spells Lance tried, he didn't reappear. He could still feel the connection, which meant Kosmo was alive. That was a comfort at least. He just wished he knew where he was.

Lance was making himself a grilled sandwich, having an imaginary debate about the disappointing character arcs when he heard a loud thump in his living room. Heart racing at a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time, Lance left his sandwich on the plate and bounded to the other room. The first thing he took in was Kosmo's return and he immediately wrapped his arms around the wolf's neck, burying his face in his fur.

"I missed you so much buddy!"

Kosmo nuzzled him in return and it was then that Lance noticed the guest in his home, just barely clinging to Kosmo's back, completely unconscious.

"Where'd he come from?"

Lance moved to pull the guy away from Kosmo and with just a minimal amount of struggle, half-carried him to his bedroom. Lance laid the stranger on his bed and was able to take a good look at him.

And he was hot.

While Lance wasn't totally sold on the mullet, his hair did was a nice jet black and looked silky to the touch. And he could spend all day just staring at that face. Kosmo came in and laid his head on the guy's chest, the same way he did whenever Lance got sick. Lance could piece together a bit of what had happened. This guy had been teleported by Kosmo and that probably took a lot out of him as a first-timer.

But now he needed the rest of the story. He hadn't even known where Kosmo was or how he was kept there.

"Hey! Yo! Dude are you good?", Lance called out, trying to get him to awaken.

After rousing him awake and getting the little tidbit that Kosmo had been trapped under Area 51 somehow, he was faced with a more pressing issue: a hot guy in his bed who wasn't completely enamored with him. In fact, he looked a little annoyed.

"You're not a witch. Witches aren't real", he said as he sat up.

"My big blue wolf would beg to differ", Lance said.

"Why would a facility meant to research aliens have a magic wolf? He's gotta be an alien."

"Dude, believe whatever you want. I just thought I'd be honest since he literally teleported you like 400 miles", Lance said, crossing his arms.

"Advanced civilizations would have that technolog-did you say 400 miles?"

Lance nodded. "You're in Cali, dude. A trip made in the blink of an eye which is only possible through magic."

"Or technology."

"Do you think Kosmo is a robot?"

"Could be."

"Okay mullet-head, I think your brain got scrambled in that jump."

"My name is Keith."

"Of course it is."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Whatever you want it to mean!", Lance shouted back. In truth, it meant nothing, but it sounded cool to say, so he said it. Also in truth, he wanted to thank this Keith guy for bringing Kosmo back to him. He could never repay him for this. But he was making it really difficult to express his gratitude.

"Maybe you're the one who doesn't understand what he is", Keith said. "But I can prove he's an alien."

One of Lance's eyebrows raised. "I'm skeptical that you can, but intrigued that you may. Alright. I'll let you 'experiment' on my familiar. But this counts as paying you back for rescuing him."

"Uh, okay", Keith agreed readily. He hadn't been expecting any thanks at all from someone else. He hadn't expected the wolf to have an owner.

"Well, now that that's settled. It's time to eat", Lance said, leaving his room to go back into the kitchen.

Keith craned his neck to watch him before getting up out of bed and following the sounds of footsteps. As he walked around he realized he was in a decently sized cabin. And besides the sounds of Lance in the kitchen, he could also hear the ocean. He really was a long ways from the Nevada desert. But it wasn't due to anything like magic.

It was all thanks to the technology of an advanced lifeform. Keith found Kosmo laying in the living room, but he raised his head when Keith approached and squatted in front of him.

"Reveal to me your secrets."

Kosmo leapt on top of Keith and licked him all over his face, much to Keith's protests. Lance heard the commotion going on but didn't turn his attention away from the second sandwich he was making.

"Don't lick him to death boy. He can't die before we get some food in him."


	3. Chapter 3

Keith ate Lance's food, was accosted into a shower, and then forced to watch some cheesy movie while Lance petted Kosmo continuously. He slept on the couch and when morning came, he was ready to start testing his theories.

"Let's get started!", Keith exclaimed, practically exploding into the kitchen.

"Eggs first", Lance said, flipping some bacon into Kosmo's mouth.

"...Eggs?"

Lance held a plate of eggs, toast, and bacon in front of Keith. Keith took the plate, looked to the wolf who was licking his chops, waiting for more bacon, then looked back to his plate.

"You can't prove your hypotheses on an empty stomach", Lance said, turning around to make his own plate.

Keith sat down and downed his food. It wasn't that he was super hungry, or that Lance's cooking was good. He just wanted to get this done as soon as possible. He had finally found alien life and all he had to do was prove it to this wackjob.

After breakfast, they adjourned outside so that they'd have ample room for whatever it was that Keith had planned. Lance was relaxing in a lounge chair while Kosmo sat in front of Keith, tail wagging in anticipation.

"Our first test will be communication", Keith decided.

"You're gonna try and talk to Kosmo?", Lance asked.

"Talking would work on another species maybe. But not with him. Besides a few sounds he seems mostly non-verbal."

At that, Kosmo let out a short howl.

"See?", Keith looked to Lance.

"...No, I don't see."

"He made a single sound, but what was more important was watching his body language. His movements in making that sound are worth more than the sound itself."

"So what did he say?", Lance asked before taking a sip of his lemonade. He was thoroughly enjoying the show Keith was giving.

Keith crossed his arms. "I don't know yet. That's what I need to figure out."

"Well I'm gonna wager a guess and say that Kosmo is trying to tell you he wants to play", Lance said.

"He's an advanced species from another planet. He doesn't want to just play", Keith said. Not unless his species' intention was to play with all of mankind like their own personal toy. Keith realized he had a duty to assure their planets remained on good terms. He was brought out of his train of thoughts when Kosmo disappeared, then reappeared with a rope toy.

He bounded around Keith, tail wagging excitedly. He let out the same sound again, although it was muffled by the sound of the toy. When Keith didn't move, Kosmo nudged his hand with it, trying to get him to play. Keith took the rope from him and Kosmo jumped back, waiting.

"He wants you to throw it", Lance said.

Keith looked to the rope, to Kosmo, to Lance, then back to the rope. Maybe he had actually been killed at Area 51. Or maybe they had caught him and put him in a simulation to see how he'd react to all of this. With nothing else to try, he tossed the rope as far as he could throw it. Kosmo disappeared with twinkling lights, reappeared to jump right as the rope was falling to the ground, then teleported back to Keith's side.

"What are you trying to tell me with this ritual?", Keith asked.

"Do it again, see if he does somethin' different", Lance suggested. From where he was sitting, he had a cute guy playing with his familiar. And being emotionally connected, Lance felt Kosmo's happiness and exhilaration as if it were his own. He was sure that Keith would get the picture eventually. Even if he didn't believe in magic, he'd have to admit that Kosmo wasn't an alien either.

Until then though, Lance was more than happy to keep him around.


	4. Chapter 4

It took a couple of days for Keith to realize that he was only playing fetch with a really big dog. He wouldn't admit to having fun and enjoying the look of elation whenever Kosmo brought the ball back or that eager attentiveness whenever Keith held his rope toy. He would not admit to that.

What he would admit to, was the fact that Kosmo's alien species and his purpose here on Earth was a conundrum. Perhaps they didn't have a goal for this planet. Maybe Kosmo crash landed here and Lance just happened to find him.

Lance considered ending this with a show of a simple spell. Something that definitely wasn't alien and was definitely magic. But where was the fun in that? Besides, Keith was so stubborn he might call Lance an android or something. Lance himself had left that afternoon to do some grocery shopping and as he turned the door knob he felt a tremor of trepidation go up his spine.

He opened the door and saw Keith slowly stepping towards Kosmo with a pair of scissors in hand.

"What're you doing?!", Lance shouted, dropping his grocery bags to stand between them. "Are you crazy? You're not cutting him up!"

"What? No. That's not what I'm doing. I'm trying to take a hair sample", Keith explained, opening and closing the scissors.

"You said he was under Area 51? That testing facility? You don't think he's gonna have a bad association with sharp things?"

Keith slowly put the scissors down. "Sorry. I didn't consider that."

Lance let out a sigh. "There's easier ways to get a fur sample", he said.

And that was how he was able to convince Keith to give Kosmo a bath and a brushing. By the end of it, Keith had more than enough fur to sample. Lance was curious as to how he'd analyze it and was surprised to see Keith take out a small pouch and pull out a magnifying glass.

"You just carry that around?"

"You never know when you'll need to take a closer look at something", Keith said as he peered at the strands of fur.

"Too bad you don't have a mini-microscope, huh?", Lance teased.

"That's too delicate too carry around", Keith said without a hint of a joke in his voice.

Lance was now imagining a full-sized Keith with a bunch of itty-bitty science tools, doing experiments in his mini-lab. He held back the giggle but he couldn't hide the grin. How was this guy so dense yet so stupid? And then Lance heard him spout off a bunch of mumbo-jumbo about his hypothesis about the molecular structure and the amount of light refraction and Lance was lost.

"...Are you one of those dumb geniuses or something?"

"Huh? What're you talking about?"

"You...I mean...You know a lot about science...and junk", Lance said.

"I know about aliens", was all Keith said.

And all Lance said was "Huh."

* * *

"I procure a rather nice specimen for you. And you let it escape?"

"We didn't let it. Someone helped it!"

Kosmo's holding area had been empty for days and neither the scientists nor the soldiers could tell where the creature had gone. Still, they were investigating the scene of the disappearance. White lab coats or the camo uniforms was the usual attire both underground and up above. But one stood out among them in a dark purple robe. He held his hands over the table Kosmo had laid on, trying to see it he could sense something.

There was something faint. But he would need to confirm it with his own eyes. One of the scientists approached him.

"Have you discovered something Mr. Lotor?"

"There's really only one place he could have gone. Time for a trip", Lotor said.


	5. Chapter 5

Lance felt a small wave of sadness wash over him. Which was weird, because he was currently in the middle of making him and Keith smoothies. And it was impossible to be sad when smoothies were in the mix. Which means it must be Kosmo.

"Hey buddy, what's the matter?", Lance called out as he walked out of the kitchen to find Kosmo by the bedroom. Keith had his backpack on and it looked like he was ready to go. But where to, Lance had no idea.

"Uhh..."

"It's time for the next test", Keith said.

"Is that test making Kosmo sad that you're leaving?"

"He's coming with me", Keith said.

"Ex- _cuse_ me? Are you trying to steal him? No smoothie for you!"

"I'm not trying to steal him. You can come too, I guess."

Lance looked him up and down. "Where exactly are you going?"

"Anywhere. Multiple places." Keith took out a sheet of paper. "The next experiment is to test his teleportation capabilities. How far can he go? And how precise? Is there a limit?"

"You could've asked me all those things", Lance pointed out.

"You're the one that keeps telling me he's your familiar and that you're a witch. You're not really a reliable source", Keith said.

" _Me_? Not reliable? And just who has been feeding you these past few days?"

Keith shuffled his feet at that. "Thanks, but you know that's not what I mean."

Lance snatched the paper from Keith and looked it over. It was just a list of coordinates. Latitudes and longitudes. Just a bunch of numbers. Lance frowned. He was going to show Keith an actual good time.

"Forget these", he said, crumpling up the paper. "I'll choose the destinations. I know Kosmo best."

Not only would he take them to places that were truly fun and interesting, he'd make sure Keith didn't overwork his very good boy. In fact, he already had a few destinations in mind.

"Have a smoothie while I get ready", he said, pushing Keith out of the bedroom.

Lance closed the door and opened his closet. At first glance, it was a small little wardrobe. But once he parted the clothes on the hanger, it expanded into a large dressing room. He went inside and twirled around, the t-shirt and sweats flying off his body. A different outfit swirled around him and when he stopped spinning, he was dressed to travel.

He came out of the closet wearing a nice button-down, light jeans, and sunglasses. He came into the kitchen, where Keith was sipping a smoothie with both hands. Lance silently reveled in the little choked sound that Keith made. He knew he looked good. It was about time that Keith realized it. Lance poured his smoothie into a to-go cup. Keith swallowed heavily and loudly.

"So what's our first stop?", he asked.

"Paris."

* * *

With a sigh, Lotor rubbed his temples. Good help was hard to find. Which meant he'd have to do this himself. He really didn't want to do this part though. It was so tedious and Lance had made it harder. The little annoyance had made it so he couldn't use a simple location spell to find him, no matter how many of Lance's personal items he owned.

Lance must be employing the use of a dummy door. Probably several. But they all had to anchor somewhere. Lotor entered his inner sanctum and a dark magic circle glowed beneath his feet. His plan to torture Lance through his familiar had been a failure thanks to those unprepared scientists. He'd just have to take on Lance man-to-man.


	6. Chapter 6

Keith had expected some kind of whiplash or other sort of disorientation from jumping such a great distance. This wasn't just across state lines. This was across an entire country plus an ocean to get from California to France. But he hadn't felt any of that.

"How is that possible?"

"I know, this is an awesome view, huh?", Lance said.

"No, I meant the trip. I don't feel like I've traveled thousands of miles in the blink of an eye. And yet I have. Just like that!", Keith said in amazement. "Where are we going next?"

"Not so fast, hot shot. You don't come all the way to Paris without enjoying yourself", Lance said.

They had teleported to the top of a roof to keep from being seen. They did so again, going from the roof to an alley. There, Kosmo shook and starting from his snout, his fur began to change until he had shifted all the way to his tail. His coloring was now that of a german shepherd breed. He was still quite large, but now he wouldn't attract so much attention with his blue coat.

Lance put a leash on him and they walked out of the alley no problem. Keith looked around in awe. Not at the romantic Parisian architecture, no. He was simply in awe that they were in Europe at all. If he could make nice with this alien, what sort of technological advancements would his kind share with humans?

Lance let out a sigh as he simply enjoyed where he was. "Isn't this great?"

"Does he need to refuel?", Keith asked, looking at Kosmo.

Kosmo was sniffing around, his eyes sparking with interest. Lance knew exactly what he was thinking, even without following his familiar's eyes over to the crepe cart.

"It's called eating dude, whether he's magical or alien. But I know a spot better than this", Lance said.

He took Keith's hand and brought him back into a dark alley and they took off again in a flash, landing in another country. Before anything else, Keith could smell. He smelled something delicious. Multiple somethings. They left out of the alley and this time came onto an even busier road, filled up and down with food carts. Keith knew where they were.

He hadn't been here since he was a kid. Lance led him to the cart and Kosmo's tail was wagging furiously like he recognized the place and knew what he was getting. Lance ordered and soon Keith was staring down a rather sizable corn dog. After biting into it, he was welcomed not only with juicy meat but with velvety, melty cheese.

Lance tossed one to Kosmo which he ate gratefully in about two bites. When Keith finished his, Lance took them a couple of carts over and bought them some hotteok. While Lance enjoyed his sweet treat, Keith was addressed by the owner. It had been so long since someone had spoken directly to him in Korean that for a moment he didn't realize he was being talked to.

"Your boyfriend is very handsome."

Keith looked from the owner to Lance and a blush slowly rose to his face. Not because of the insinuation that he was dating Lance, but because for the first he was actually looking at Lance. And he was handsome. Keith shoved the rest of his food into his mouth and struggled but ended up pushing it down. Just as he pushed down whatever was trying to rise within him.

After eating, they went to an art museum in Nigeria. Keith took out a notebook and wrote down about how despite a full stomach, he wasn't nauseous from the trip, as well as other comments.

"Come on man, appreciate the artwork", Lance said, putting an arm around his shoulders.

Keith kept his eyes on the pages, determined not to look at Lance. So what if he was handsome? He was here to study aliens, nothing else. And besides, he didn't get art.

"I don't get art."

"You don't have to get it. Just...look at it."

Lance pulled his arm away and Keith let out a sigh of relief. Kosmo was waiting outside, sleeping under a tree. Keith was realizing that he hadn't really been alone with Lance before. Kosmo was always there. He swallowed and put the notebook away. And he looked. At the art. As he had said before, he didn't really get it. But when he actually paid attention to it, he was able to appreciate the artistry, the skill, and the attention to detail.

And it was nice.

By the time they finished walking through the gallery, Keith could honestly say he had enjoyed himself. And that was a weird thing to think.

"Alrigh! We've eaten, got some culture, now it's time to get our blood pumping", Lance exclaimed.

"Are you taking me to an underground fight club?", Keith asked, cracking his knuckles.

Lance gasped. "And ruin either of our perfect faces? No way. But you will be sweating by the end of it."

Keith had been anticipating some kind of athletic activity, which he excelled at. What he wasn't expecting was loud music and grooving bodies and lights all around the room.

Lance had taken him to a nightclub.

In Cuba.


	7. Chapter 7

This definitely wasn't Keith's scene. But Lance had dragged him in and once again it was just the two of them. He didn't know where Kosmo had gone off to, but Keith couldn't study him if he wasn't around.

"Why did you bring me here?", Keith asked, having to raise his voice over the loud music.

"Because you need to unwind and learn how to live in the now!", Lance shouted, pulling him to the dance floor.

Lance began to move with the music, looking like he completely belonged to the crowd while standing out at the same time. Keith didn't know how to dance. And he knew he was moving like it. Lance grinned and grabbed his wrist, pulling him in close.

"Don't think", he said into Keith's ear.

That part was easy. Keith was always about actions over words. So he stopped thinking. Unfortunately, that opened up the door he'd been trying to keep closed for the better part of the day. When he wasn't thinking, it was easy to get lost in Lance's eyes, to follow the way his hips shook, to get swept up in his smile. Keith couldn't tell you about the song they were dancing to or anyone around them.

But he could probably perfectly describe the way Lance looked tonight. And how he made his heart pound. Suddenly Keith pushed away from Lance.

"I need to get some air."

He weaved through the crowd at a brisk pace and didn't stop until he was out the door and into the cool, night air. Keith took in a deep breath and tried to get his mind right.

"You okay?", Lance asked, having followed after him.

"Why did you take me to all these places?", Keith asked.

"To prove that my wolf is magic, not alien. And because you looked like you could use some fun."

Keith looked to the club, loud music muffled by the closed doors. "This isn't what I do for fun." While dancing with Lance had been an...experience, Keith had his own hobbies.

"Well what DO you do for fun? Besides science experiments?"

"...I like to watch weapon forging videos."

"You sneak into government facilities, like fight clubs, and watch people make weapons. You really are something, huh mullet-boy?"

"Mullet-boy?"

"Luckily for you, I know a guy", Lance said. Kosmo appeared at his side and the three of them returned to Lance's home.

"Why are we back at your place?", Keith asked.

"Because we gotta go through one of my doors", Lance answered as he went over to the coat closet. He flipped a light switch on the outside wall and when he opened the door, instead of coats and shoes, there was forest. Keith blinked and then quickly whipped out his notebook.

"Did the aliens give you access to their teleportation tech? To quantum doorways? Or is this a form of light speed travel?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "It's magic. C'mon."

They walked through the door and entered the forest and after about a minute of walking, Keith could hear the familiar sound of a metallic rhythm. Sure enough, they came through the tree line and there was a man hammering away at an anvil.

"Keith, this is Coran. He makes weapons. Coran, this is Keith, possibly feral but he doesn't bite."

"Always nice to have visitors!", Coran said, pausing briefly in his work.

Keith's eyes were wide as he got closer to see what Coran was making. Behind him sat the rest of the forge, weapons hanging from the walls and all the trappings of a proper workspace.

"This is incredible. Can I...make something?", Keith asked.

"You actually know how to use this stuff?", Lance questioned.

Keith shrugged. "I've watched enough videos and know a bit about knife maintenance."

Lance was only partially worried about what kind of knives Keith had been maintaining. The other half of him found it kind of hot.

"There is a small project I need to work on today, if you can handle it", Coran said, going deeper into the forge and returning with a design template. "Zethrid and Ezor's daughter just turned ten. It's time for her first dagger ceremony."

"She's that old already", Lance said. "Time flies."

"First dagger ceremony?", Keith asked as he looked at the design. Sure enough, it was small enough to fit into the palm of a child. That seemed weird, but who was he to question other people's traditions? Keith tied his hair back and grabbed a black apron and got right to work. Lance found a chair to sit in and let himself get lost in Keith's process.

He didn't know what the appeal of those forging videos were, but if any of them had a hottie like Keith, Lance could understand.

"You know, you could help me with this", Keith said. He had found a cloth to wrap around his head and keep his bangs out of the way.

"This isn't my area of expertise", Lance said.

"And dancing isn't mine."

"Touche."

Lance put on his own apron and followed Keith's directions for making the cute little dagger. And though it was small, it was still physical labor. Which had Lance sweating.

"Here", Keith said, wiping Lance's forehead with a cloth, not even thinking about it. He tied it around Lance's head like his own and they continued on the job.

* * *

Lotor's face broke into a triumphant expression. He had found Lance. He could feel him.

"Wait...But what's this?", he said to himself as it became more clear through their spiritual bond. "That little-! He's forging a connection. But it's thanks to that I was able to find him. I'm coming for you Lance."


	8. Chapter 8

"Not a bad job, if I do say so myself!", Coran exclaimed.

He examined the little dagger made by Keith and Lance, turning it this way and that, twisting his body all around to inspect it fully. It was actually well made. Lance couldn't believe it. He'd never ventured into weapon-making before.

"So, you're giving that knife to a kid?", Keith asked, wiping his forehead with a cloth.

"It's part of their tradition", Coran said.

"...Cool."

"Alright, I've sweated enough for today. I need a wash, preferably in a hot spring, but I'll settle for a really nice shower", Lance said.

Kosmo's head lifted and he let out a whine. Lance felt a shiver of fear go up his spine. One that was incredibly familiar. His entire body went cold. Kosmo came up to Lance and rubbed against him, anxious.

"Is something wrong with him?", Keith asked.

"We should get out of here", Lance said, his voice calmer than the urgency he felt.

"Leaving so soon? I thought we'd get a chance to catch up", Lotor said, stepping out of the treeline.

Keith didn't know what to make of this man. A dedicated cosplayer? His skin and ears said so. But what did that make Lance? Did they both like the same show? Is that what the witch thing was all about?

Keith put the sweaty cloth down. "Friend of yours?"

"Not even close", Lance answered.

"You don't know how hard I've worked to find you Lance. And I'm not letting you get away this time", Lotor said.

"You kidnapped my familiar and had him trapped in an underground lab. I think I know exactly what you've been getting up to. Kosmo! Scatter!"

Kosmo disappeared in a blip and Lance grabbed Keith, drawing a simple circle and doing the same. They teleported, appearing in a place Keith didn't recognize. They were still surrounded by trees, but these were pines. Lance fell to his knees.

"What did you just do?! Were you always able to do that?! Where are we? And who was that?!", Keith bombarded him.

Lance panted. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. But traveling like that takes a lot of energy." He took a few deep breaths. "That was Lotor. We weren't really together, so I can't call him an ex but we kinda had a thing, and basically it all started back when we were learning under our master and-"

"An abridged version, please", Keith said.

"Hey! This is important! But I guess I can just skip to the important parts. Those parts being that my magic grows stronger with emotions and being a high empath anyone who forms a magic bond with me gets powerful in return and Lotor wanted that, so we did it and then he started using that power to subjugate others and I cut him off."

"...That's your story?"

"It's totally true! But I can't just sever the bond on my own. Either we both have to let go, or one of us has to die", Lance said, slowly getting to his feet. "But the bond should be dulled, he shouldn't have been able to find me...", Lance trailed off as he looked over at Keith.

"What?"

"Nothing!", Lance looked away, cheeks warm.

Keith took a step towards Lance but was stopped by a crackly beam of light blasting between them. Lotor on the other said of it, wand in hand.

"You can't keep running from me!"

"Bet."

Lance took Keith's hand again and they teleported again, this time though, they didn't land on the ground safely. Instead, when Keith opened his eyes, they were falling through the sky. He didn't see Lance at first and realized he was some feet away, unconscious.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Wake up!", Keith screamed, trying to swim through the air towards him.

They fell through the cloud line and underneath them was a body of water. Not as bad as solid ground, but they wouldn't get away with zero damage from this height. Lance's eyes fluttered open and he quickly took in the situation. He reached into his back pocket and took out a small key chain. It had a plastic lion charm, a couple keys, and a dog tag.

Lance took off one of the keys and threw it towards the ocean. The key elongated, got bigger, and shifted in shape until it was in the form of a broom. It zipped through the air and caught Lance. He righted himself and flew over to Keith, grabbing his arm and pulling him aboard. Keith wrapped his arms around Lance's waist, holding on tight.

"Believe in magic now?", Lance asked, ignoring the way his hear skipped a beat at the contact.

"Nanotech. And is this really the time?!"

Lance rolled his eyes as they flew across the ocean. "He'll have a harder time finding me if we're on the move."

"How long can you fly this thing?", Keith asked, watching the great blue expanse go by all around them.

"...We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."


	9. Chapter 9

It's easy to forget how big the ocean is. Lance certainly hadn't thought about it in a while. But after about half an hour of flying, there was still no land in sight. And he was tired. He slowed his broom down and took one of the other keys off the ring. He threw it and it turned into a small row boat. He and Keith stepped in and the broom returned to its key form.

"So we're just going to float forever?", Keith asked.

"Just until I can get a good nap in", Lance said. The current should keep them moving for the most part, keeping Lotor from finding them too easily. And Kosmo was far away, so Lotor couldn't use him either. Lance reclined on his side of the boat while Keith sat up straight.

"Well what's the plan for after that? We can't just keep running."

Lance closed his eyes. "I'll send you somewhere. Lotor won't go after you."

"And then you're just going to let him chase you? I'm not leaving you Lance", Keith said.

At that, Lance opened his eyes and sat up. "This doesn't have anything to do with you. It's my problem, not yours."

"It became my problem when a guy shot a laser at me", Keith crossed his arms. "Besides, you still owe me a debt for saving your alien. We're taking care of your ex and then we're going back to the experiments."

Lance didn't know what to say. He was frustrated at Keith's stubbornness but at the same time was charmed by his steadfast attitude. Truth be told, Lance didn't want to face Lotor alone but he figured he'd have to eventually. But Keith wanting to stay with him, made Lance feel a little better, less alone. And now Lance really wished they weren't on this tiny boat because he wanted to move over to Keith's side and kiss him all over.

And just as he was thinking that, thunder and lightly crackled above them and Lotor appeared right on top of them, riding a broom of his own.

"I should be happy that you're making it so easy for me to find you. But I can't help feeling betrayed."

"Either way you're a creep", Lance said. As the words left his mouth, a glowing purple rope appeared and wrapped around him, stemming from Lotor's wand.

"Behave yourself. We have a long eternity ahead of us."

"Let him go!", Keith yelled, pulling at the bindings that didn't budge even a little.

Lotor pulled back the rope, making Lance hang in the air. He barely spared Keith a glance before flying away. Keith called Lance's name and tried paddling with his hands, not getting very far and only being able to watch as Lance was taken away. Even as his arms got tired, he tried to move himself. If he gave up, he'd just be stuck in the middle of the ocean. And Lance would be in the hands of that maniac.

When the burning in his arms got to be too much, he finally stopped, panting as he dropped to lie down in the boat. He had to get to Lance. But first he had to get out of the vast expanse of the ocean. He had a couple of things in his pocket to set on fire in case a low-flying plane or a bigger boat came by. But that could take forever.

The boat dipped as something heavy landed in it and Keith shot up, nearly causing it to tip over. Kosmo sat on the other end of the boat, looking at him expectantly.

"How'd you find me?"

Kosmo barked, which wasn't helpful communication. And yet it was enough for Keith. What mattered was that he was here. Which mean they could simply teleport somewhere else.

"Let's go find Lance."


	10. Chapter 10

Lance was already exhausted and he was just getting more tired the more time went on. Lotor saw fit to cage him within a large orb that would allow him to use Lance's power.

"This isn't exactly a five star hotel", Lance complained.

"You know that I too prefer the finer things such as feather pillows and soft mattresses, but you'd run away if I gave you that much freedom", Lotor said.

"You are literally the worst", Lance said before sinking down and leaning against the glass, his back to Lotor.

Lotor walked away from the orb and went over to his cauldron. He shot a purple flame from his fingers to light the fire. He began to toss things inside and soon it was bubbling.

"You'll be more cooperative after you drink this." The potion would make Lance obedient to him. It would have to do until he could enchant something to do the same. Perhaps a bracelet or a collar. When Lance didn't respond, Lotor turned towards him. "What were you doing with that boy? I didn't sense any magic from him."

Lance remained quiet. He had nothing to say to Lotor. Especially not about Keith.

"Hmph. I suppose he doesn't matter anymore. He's a part of your past now."

Lance stiffened at that and wrapped his arms around himself. He hadn't known Keith long, so it was scary how important he'd become in such a short amount of time. A part of him wished that Keith would be smart and stay away. Being shackled to Lotor sounded like torture but he didn't want Keith to get hurt. And another part of Lance wanted him to come in and save him.

He thought of Ketih's retelling of his Area 51 break-in. He had planned to do it for a long time and the commotion with the meme had given him the perfect opportunity. Keith was stubborn and ignored what was right in front of him in the name of upholding science. He'd probably approach any rescue the same way. Which meant that Lotor's defenses would pick up on him easily.

And he'd get captured. And then killed or worse.

Lance had to figure a way out. If only to save Keith when he inevitably came in, thinking it'd be an infiltration on the same level as Area 51. The sound of the door bursting open snatched Lance's attention away from his thoughts and he shot up to his feet. Keith barreled in, riding on Kosmo's back, a sword in his hand. Both Lance and Lotor's eyes widened at the familiar blade.

Lotor dropped the vial in his hand and it shattered to the ground. "Is that-!?"

"Excalibur!", Lance exclaimed.

Keith jumped off of Kosmo and in a flash, swung the sword down, over Lotor. He let out a cry and fell as if slashed, but there was no wound or cut on his body. But both Lance and Lotor had felt a severing. Lotor laid shocked on the ground as Keith ran over to Lance.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"How'd you pull Excalibur out?!", Lance shouted, banging his fists against his confines.

Keith looked to the weapon in his hand. "That's a cool name for a sword."

"Are you serious right now?"

"I'll explain later. Now move out of the way", Keith said.

Lance took a step back, expecting Keith to use the sword to break the glass. Instead, he pulled a tool from the bag slung over Kosmo - a glass cutter. Keith carefully created an opening for Lance to step through. The moment he did, Lance practically pounced on him, wrapping his arms around in a tight hug.

"You idiot, he could've killed you!", Lance scolded while embracing him.

"He'll have to try harder than that."

Lotor's body was still limp and for a moment, Lance wondered what to do with him. The power of Excalibur was that its blade could cut anything, and only tore what was intended by the user. When Keith had used it, he hadn't harmed Lotor physically, but had instead ripped the bond that connected him to Lance. Lotor could no longer track him with such ease.

"You know, we could be really cruel and send him to Area 51 like he did to my familiar. But I think I'll be nice."

* * *

Nice was presenting Lotor in front of both of his parents and tattling on him. Abusing a soul bond was a big taboo in the magic world and Lotor was effectively imprisoned (grounded) for the next 500 years.

That seemed to lenient to Keith but Lance assured him that it was fair. Lotor was half-elf and half-orc, so his grounding wouldn't be a cakewalk.

"Besides, in five hundred years, I'll be long gone", Lance waved his hand.

"What? Witches don't live to be 3,000 years old?", Keith grinned.

He and Keith were sitting outside, on Lance's back patio, nestled next to each other on the porch swing while the stars twinkled above. Kosmo was frolicking about in the yard, chasing fireflies. Keith had already told him about Kosmo leading him to a woman named Allura who had presented him with the sword. He had wanted to keep Exaclibur and study its properties but the sword had dissipated into light not long after defeating Lotor.

"Only the reeeeeally good ones or the reeeeeally bad ones. So you admit to believing in magic now?", Lance smirked back at him.

Keith thought about all that he'd seen since rescuing Kosmo. There were a lot of things going through his head right now that needed sorting out. But there was one thing he was absolutely sure off. He looked over at Lance, gazed into his eyes for a moment, and then leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips.

He pulled back to see Lance's expression but the moment their lips parted Lance moved back in for a second, deeper kiss. Not one to be outmatched, Keith's hands moved up to hold Lance's face.

Maybe a kind of magic was real.

Maybe it was simply a facet of the unexplainable, which made it very much like the scientific inquiries he pursued.

Maybe it was all the same or totally different.

But this - the feel of Lance's warm skin under his hands, the taste of his lips, the sound of his breathing, that was all a sure thing that he could believe in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! Don't worry about Lotor. His parents have him doing chores with his own hands. Like a muggle. LOL  
> And Keith and Lance get to live happily ever after with their magic dog.
> 
> Don't have anything in the future planned for klance fics right now but if you're hankerin' for more, I recc my other one "Reaching Out". It's got ghosts. And angst. And nachos.


End file.
